1945 Oliver 60 Row Crop Tractor - New Acquisition

Yet another tractor followed me home, or that's the story us tractor hoarders always want everyone to think. I do acknowledge I'm the problem. That's the first step, or so they say. And to be fair, this tractor is just a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

The back story is this. I needed some parts for my 1942 Oliver 60 Standard. Things like grille halves, the all-important Oliver grille nameplate, oil bath air cleaner, correct carburetor, and a couple other little tidbits. I had contacted someone on Facebook in an Oliver tractor forum and he said he should have all the parts. He just kept stringing me along for over a month, giving one excuse after another (including losing my messages - how does someone lose messages that are stored on Facebook?). The worst part was, he kept putting up postings on the forum of other tractor parts for sale, so he certainly had time to do things he wanted to do. In the end however, it was all for the best, as this 1945 Oliver tractor popped up on Facebook Marketplace for $550.

A lot of times these old Oliver tractors are missing the two front grilles because they get damaged and thrown away, so this one having them was what piqued my interest. I studied the photos and the tractor seemed to be very complete, other than having two John Deere rear wheels. The biggest down side to the tractor was that it was a ferry trip away. That alone would be $160 round-trip for my pickup truck and small dump trailer. Such is the life of a tractor hoarder though, and it's not the first time I've dragged a tractor onto a ferry.

My plan for this tractor is to take parts from it and put them on the 1942 60 Standard, and take those few parts off the '42 and put on this one. Parts to come off this tractor are the radiator and shroud, grille inserts, Oliver nameplate, air cleaner, carburetor, and generator pulley. I had to buy a cheapo aluminum radiator for my 60 Standard so that radiator and shroud will go on this tractor, along with possibly swapping carburetors, depending on which one is in better condition and/or more correct. I don't plan on parting out this tractor, in fact, the goal is to get it running before selling it but the engine is stuck at the moment.

The grilles and shroud are bent up some but fortunately there are no gaping holes.

Those rear wheels and tires are 38-inchers. Original wheels and tires were 32 inches. These large tires give the tractor a forward rake.

I may have to nab that original generator.... although the one on my 60 Standard has a tach drive. Decisions, decisions.

The battery has a date sticker of October 2008. That date isn't definitive on when the last time the tractor ran but since the battery is clamped down, I'm assuming the tractor did run when the battery was put in. If the battery wasn't clamped down, someone could make the argument that the tractor wasn't running in 2008 and a battery was thrown in then just to try (but fail) to start the engine. Since the battery is clamped down, it probably did run at the most 17 years ago. It has sure been neglected since then.

The bent shift lever says this tractor is 1944 or newer, and it's a 5-speed transmission. Prior to that date these Oliver 60s were a 4-speed with a straight shifter. The large cast iron lump in front of the shifter is a "power lift". The long pedal coming off the right side is pushed down and the lift is then engaged to the transmission, which makes the two side arms go up which would lift an implement like a cultivator out of the ground. Pressing the lever again would release the lift and the implement would engage the ground again.

The seat looks like an aftermarket Knoedler Floe-Ride seat with a spring and shock absorber. My 1949 Ferguson TO-20 has a seat mount design very similar to this one.

Well looky what I just found on the all-knowing interwebs. A spittin' image of this tractor's seat.

The drawbar is intact. Nice.

The gauges aren't original but that's ok.

I'm not quite sure why someone cut a hole in the hood behind the gas tank.

There's that fine looking air cleaner I'll be nabbing soon....

There's the all-important serial number tag.

The previous owner bought this tractor at an auction in northern Washington state.

Mmm, moss.

There was no gas cap on the fuel tank so I figured I should take off the sediment bowl so any water could drain out. There's a little disc of dried dirt in the bottom of the bowl.

After getting bowl off, I rapped on the fuel shutoff housing several times and a pile of junk came out. Yeah, it's going to need some work.

Someone thought it was a good idea to put this boat fuel line with primer bulb on the tractor. How old does a rubber line and bulb have to be to become petrified?